Hemingford Grey, Cambridgeshire - St. James Church - art postcard c.1970s

• Postcard

   

• Picture / Image:  St. James [Church], Hemingford Grey, [Cambridgeshire] - art postcard
• Publisher:  F. W. Smith, Hayling Island, 1975
• Postally used:  no
• Stamp:  n/a
• Postmark(s): n/a
• Sent to:  n/a
• Notes / condition: 

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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

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Hemingford Grey is a village in the English county of Cambridgeshire

It is situated on the southern bank of the River Great Ouse in the county of Cambridgeshire, with the northern bank occupied by the flood meadow. Until 1965 it was in Huntingdonshire and between 1965 and 1974 it was in the short-lived county of Huntingdon and Peterborough. It adjoins Hemingford Abbots to the west and St Ives on the north of the river and the A14 trunk road passes through the parish about a mile south of the main settlement.

In Anglo-Saxon times the neighbouring villages of Hemingford Grey and Hemingford Abbots were a single estate. In the ninth century they were split into two. In 1066 "Little Hemingford", as it was known, was acquired by nearby Ramsey Abbey. In around 1140 Payn of Hemingford began the construction of Hemingford Manor, one of the oldest inhabited buildings in England, as well as the present church. The manor was then owned by the Turberville family who for a while gave their name to the village.^[2][3]

In 1276 the village was given its present name by the de Grey family. The manor remained in the possession of the Greys until seized by Henry VII in the fifteenth century after George Grey, 2nd Earl of Kent was unable to settle his debts. The manor was subsequently leased to a number of people, including the great-grandfather of Oliver Cromwell.

Listed as Emingeforde in the Domesday Book, the name Hemingford means "the ford of the people of Hemma or Hemmi", where Hemma is believed to be the name of a Saxon chief.^[2] The village was at different times known as East Hemingeford (11th century), Hamicheford (12th), Hemmingeforde Turbervill (13th-14th), Hemmingeforde Parva (13th-14th) and Hemingford Priors (14th-15th).^[3]

With no church listed in the Domesday Book, it is believed the church was first built in the first half of the twelfth century by Payn of Hemingford, a tenant of Ramsey Abbey, and was enlarged over the following centuries. Parts of the medieval church still survive in the south aisle and nave.

The spire collapsed during a hurricane in 1741 and instead of being rebuilt was replaced with eight ball finials at its base. The church is still in active use with up to three services on a Sunday and many more in the week. The church undertook the second phase of a restoration project in 2013 and was closed from March till September. The main part of this work was to replace plasterwork which has been significantly damaged over the years by damp and modern repair and to restore the arcades stonework.^[2]

The centre of the village has an attractive mixture of buildings including thatched timber-framed cottages and the church with its unique truncated spire. Along the riverside path is the Norman Manor House 'The Manor', claimed to be the oldest inhabited house in the United Kingdom, where Lucy Boston the children's writer lived and which is open to the public by prior arrangement.

The village is home to a village shop, a primary school, and The Cock public house. The post office closed in 2003, but there is a post office run from St James' Parish Centre. The 19th century Reading Room is still used for community meetings.^[2]

Hemingford Grey is a vibrant community with many and varied voluntary organisations providing recreation, education and sporting facilities for residents. Among note is the annual Hemingfords' Regatta, held annually with the adjoining village of Hemingford Abbots since 1901 and believed to be among the oldest village regattas in the country.^[4]